After catching Goitia in his criminal act and then drawing his service revolver, Edwards pursued Goitia in the cause of justice.

As such, Goitia set in motion the chain of events that resulted in Edwards’ death from friendly fire.

While some may exploit this horrific incident for their own perverted ends, the district attorney should charge Goitia with felony murder for igniting this tragedy.

Petty criminals must understand that a citizen’s right to defend his property extends to protecting his life.

Mark G. Brennan

Manhattan

***

Here we go again: An African-American who happens to be a police officer is tragically gunned down in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity.

In some people’s world, this translates into a racist shooting based solely on the color of skin.

One wonders at what point the country, which elected an African-American president, is forgiven for its despicable past and moves on. It is beyond comprehension to surmise that a police officer who sees an individual chasing after someone with a visible firearm is actually factoring in the color of his skin in arriving at the life- and career-altering decision to take action.

It is only in Al Sharpton’s modern-day America that police officers, who risk their lives to protect the public, have to be fearful of protest marches before taking action to protect the public.

Gary Handel

Huntington

***

Apparently the NYPD has not learned the lessons of the other “friendly fire” shooting 15 years ago of Officer Desmond Robinson, who is black and was shot by a white NYPD officer.

In my opinion, white NYPD officers have a tendency to view black men with suspicion.

In all fairness to the NYPD, I can understand this behavior, as a lot of crime is committed by people of color.

However, the NYPD must understand that, in the larger picture, the majority of black and Hispanic men, are not of a criminal nature.

We are just like anyone else, trying to make a living to support our families.

The NYPD needs to be more diligent in community training to bring about a trust of the police in minority communities.

Like myself, a lot of law-abiding minorities have a general distrust of police officers and the NYPD.

Greg Cuffee

Manhattan

***

I wish a term other than “friendly fire” could be found to describe tragic events when military or law-enforcement personal are shot by colleagues.